Father
by ShouldaSeenThatOneComing
Summary: Nightcloud always talked about it. She always told him about the love and pride that came with it... but she never explained to him what it was. "Wh-What's a father?"


Just a little idea I've had for awhile. A scene had just randomly played in my head of Breezekit watching from afar a group of kits bragging about thier fathers. He then turns and asks Nightcloud what a father is. I thought it was really sad but very plausible. So I finally got off my lazy butt and did the story. It ended a little differently but I still like it =3

I really love how I portrayed the characters and I _think _they act pretty closely to how they do in the books. But if you think their OC tell me so I won't make the same mistakes *winks at the hint*

I do not own Warriors. If I did Hawkfrost would get a brainfreeze.

* * *

He felt one of his paws twitch, it's sensitive hairs brushing against the gritty dirt. He furrowed his brow and stretched the paw out, feeling nothing but the earth. Giving a small mew, he lifted his head and swung it around, searching for the warmth he knew should be there. A pointless gesture however, due his inability to see. He let out another mew, wondering where the comforting scent of his mother was. He unsteadily pushed himself up with his front paws, his forehead had wrinkles from how hard he was furrowing his eyebrows. Panic gripped him for the first time in his short life as he desperately cried out again, the darkness suddenly looking dark and frightening. He gave a loud yowl and his eyes flew open.

He blinked in shock, taking in his surroundings for the first time. He was in a cavern of dirt making the lightening bad, but rays from the sun still spilled into the den from it's entrance. The golden rays dazzled him and they seemed so welcoming and warm after the icy darkness. Mystified, he unsteadily stood up, not taking his eyes off the rays. He took a small step towards it and suddenly the light was blocked out. Horrified by his obvious mistake, he gave a yowl of terror and stumbled backwards, hoping his precious light would return.

"Breezekit?!"

The dark shape rushed to him and he cowered to the ground, trembling, as the figure stooped down. The familiar scent of his mother rushed into his nostrils and he felt himself relax under her warm tongue.

"What are you doing out of the nest?" She exclaimed, taking a step back. "Oh Breezekit! Your eyes! They've opened!" He blinked and looked up at her for the first time. Her fur was dark, black actually, and he shivered slightly at the color, still feeling wary of it. But the sun's rays shone brightly from behind her and her green eyes were bright and glowed with a similar warmth.

"I'm so happy!" His mother leaned down and once again began grooming him, her tongue sweeping across his forehead and back.

_What do I look like? _The thought flickered into him and he urgently pushed away from his insistent mother, twisting around to peer at his back but his thick paws and legs were not ready for such flexibility and he clumsily fell into the earth. _Black _He concluded standing up slowly, blocking out his mother's scolding and grooming. _I'm black…. Like my mother… so are my eyes green like her's too?_

"Your father will be so pleased." His mother said abruptly, pulling back to look him over again. "I'm sure he'd love to see your beautiful eyes."

"Are my eyes green?" He asked, arching his neck till it hurt so he could see into her own emerald orbs.

She shook her head, "No, your eyes are blue. But they might be green, all kits begin with blue eyes." She paused, looking into his gaze with remorse. "I hope they stay blue though… It's such a beautiful color…"

He tipped his head to the side, "It is?" He wasn't so sure about that. Yellow. That was a good color. It was the color of light. Light was warm and welcoming. Light had helped him escaping the suffocating darkness. Yes, light was wonderful. And yellow was the color of light. _I want yellow eyes. _He concluded determinably.

His mother shook her head, "Never mind my love, come, I'm sure you want to see what's beyond these walls."

* * *

"You're sure Crowfeather just left?"

"Yes Nightcloud, I'm sure he'll see Breezekit soon enough, but right now he's serving his Clan. StarClan knows he needs to at least do that."

Breezekit gave a loud yawn, letting his eyes sweep around the open landscape around him. Tree's and boulders dotted the edges of the camp, blocking his prying eyes from the land further along. At least the camp was exciting to watch. Cats appeared and disappeared from tunnels and patches of gorse. Some were carrying prey, others were chatting with fellow warriors and he could just see a couple of smaller cats tussling with each other near a huge rock. He sighed, watching was nice but he wanted to explore! All his mother cared about though was this 'Crowfeather.'

"Come on Breezekit!" Nightcloud snarled, whipping away from the tabby she'd been talking to and began stalking back to the nursery.

"But you said we'd explore!" Breezekit cried indignantly.

"You'll see the camp later!" The she-cat growled, not pausing.

Breezekit didn't move. He'd rather sit still and watch then go back to the dark nursery. His mother noticed and twisted around. "Breezekit!" He didn't move and flinched as she stalked up to him, her green eyes sparking with fury. She reached down and jerked him into the air by the scruff of his neck.

"No!" He wailed, trying desperately to escape. The two cats he'd seen earlier paused from their activities to watch, they're eyes glued to him with wonderment. Breezekit snapped his mouth shut, feeling a wave of embarrassment crash into him. He hung his head in shame and let himself be carried to the nursery.

"I'm sorry my little one." Nightcloud sighed, letting him gently down onto the cold dirt of the den's floor. "I know you wanted to explore, but we can't let you get dirty the day you open your eyes before your father sees you."

Breezekit twitched his tail but refused to look at her.

* * *

Orange rays seeped into the dank den. Tempting and warm.

Breezekit glanced over at the sleeping form of his mother. He squinted, watching her dark form breath steadily and deeply. _In, out, in, out. _

He cautiously dragged his paw out of the nest, setting it on the cold earth below. A second paw followed and he looked back again, paranoia gripping him. Nothing, she was still asleep. He pushed his back paws out of the nest in a sudden haste to get out. They caught the edge and he stumbled, landing with a painful squeak onto the hard packed ground. He could feel eyes fall on him and the black tom leaped to his paws, stumbling in a rush to the entrance. He paused, out of breath, and looked back fearfully. Nothing, the eyes had been part of his imagination, Nightcloud was still asleep. Deciding not to push his luck, Breezekit quickly pushed himself out up the tunnel and out into the clear air.

Nightcloud had kept him in the den the whole day yesterday. His 'father' had not appeared and she'd promised they'd find him tomorrow. It was tomorrow but there was no way in StarClan he'd waste another day when he could be learning valuable information about the camp and the cats in it.

He rushed out, staring in wonderment at the red, orange, and yellow colors that bled into the sky.

_Wa-humph!_

Breezekit's face smashed into the ground, his body curved into arch from the body beneath him. He gave a his head a rough shake and pushed himself up , stepping awkwardly away from the other cat.

"Wah!" She cried, rolling over on to her back and thrashing her paws in the air. "You killed me!"

"What!" Breezekit started, was is really that easy to kill a cat! Panic gripped him and he rushed forwards. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sure StarClan will welcome you with honor!" He spewed, not understanding half of what he was saying, all he knew was that he was truly sorry for what he'd done, he didn't even know this cat and he felt a terrible guilt claw at him.

"Hey, it's alright." The she-cat suddenly rolled back onto her paws, watching him with amusement. "I was just joking, you didn't even hurt me."

Breezekit froze from his ramblings, staring into her blue eyes in disbelief. "That's not funny!" He cried, embarrassment rising it's ugly head again. "I thought I actually killed you!"

"Nope." She smiled, "Takes a lot more than that to kill a warrior."

"You're a warrior?!" He looked at her with awe and amazement, forgetting his humiliation.

A mrrow of laughter erupted from the she-cat, her shoulders quivered from the strain. Breezekit glared at her reproachfully as she continued laughing, such an honorable title shouldn't be laughed at. "What?!"

The light tabby finally swallowed her laughter and looked at him, amusement still sparkling in her eyes. "I'm not a warrior. I'm not even an apprentice!"

The tom blinked, suddenly realizing she was no where near as large as his mother and was just a bit bigger than him. He narrowed his a eyes and roughly rasped at his chest fur, hoping she couldn't see it prickling with awkwardness.

"My name's Heatherkit." She continued, watching him with laughter filling her gaze.

"Breezekit." He growled, refusing to look up.

"I can show you the camp if you want Breezekit." Heatherkit offered suddenly.

He looked at her warily, wondering if she was tricking him again. But he decided putting up with the mischievous she-cat would be worth the tour. "Okay."

"That's the nursery." She started immediately, flicking her tail to the area behind him. "We can start there."

_No! _Breezekit stared at her in disbelief, seriously considering if just wandering around would be better than trying locate a tour guide.

"Kidding," Heatherkit laughed. "Come on, I'll show you the apprentice's den."

The dark tom mumbled in comprehensible things under his breath as he followed his chipper denmate to a dark tunnel. Cat smell hung around it but even his inexperienced nose could figure out that the scents were stale. He glared at her suspiciously.

"The apprentices and warriors don't really use their dens. They prefer sleeping under the open sky." Heatherkit explained, noticing his untrustworthy look.

The kit blinked, thinking about the choking blackness of the nursery and shuddered. Sleeping with the sky as your roof and the wind as your air sounded much more welcoming. He gave a small nod to show he understood. Heatherkit nodded warmly in return before abruptly trotting off.

Breezekit jumped, staring after her in anguish, she'd forgotten about the tour!

"Well come on!" The tabby called, stopping to look over her shoulder, "I wanna show you the warrior's den!"

"Uh, coming!" He started, rushing to catch up. He'd nearly reached her when Heatherkit suddenly shot off. Breezekit stumbled abruptly to a halt, watching in disbelief at she skirted away from him. "Come on!" She cried playfully, "I'll race you to the warrior's den! It's that tunnel near the swath of heather!"

Breezekit to where her muzzle was pointing, easily identifying the chosen landmark. Heatherkit looked at him challengingly, waiting to see if he thought he was up to it. The black tom considered his options, Heatherkit was older and larger than him and she was obviously better on her paws than him. But there was no way he'd let her take the rest of what little pride he had left. He felt his muscles tense in anticipation. He'd have to be quick.

The other kit was still waiting for an answer when Breezekit pushed his paws forwards, dashing wildly to the tunnel.

"Hey! You cheater!" He heard the cry followed by the pounding of pawsteps. Not wanting to look back, Breezekit screwed his eyes closed and lunged ahead with all his might, knowing his opponent's longer legs and steadier paws would overcome him easily.

A sturdy body suddenly crashed into him, brining him to a bone jarring halt. Falling to the ground in a daze, Breezekit barely head Heatherkit's cry of shock. A nose pushed into his fur and he groaned, pushing himself to his paws.

"What do you think your doing!" A deep voice growled.

The two kits froze and stared in terror in front of the black tom. "Well!" He demanded.

"W-we were racing." Heatherkit answered timidly.

"To the _warriors _den! You have no business here! Your just asking to get under everyone's paws and cause chaos!" The tom snapped, blue eyes glaring coldly down at them.

The two kits ducked to the ground, trembling.

"Oh go easy on them, Crowfeather." A light-brown tabby padded over, looking at the younger cats with amusement. "They were just playing and it's not like we constantly use the dens anyway."

Breezekit pricked his ears. Crowfeather, that was the name Nightcloud kept mentioning. _What's so special about this old badger? _

"They still are just asking to cause chaos." Crowfeather snapped.

The other tom's eyes darkened as he growled menacingly, "I do believe you have no room to talk."

Crowfeather flinched, his blue eyes turning icy as he ducked his head down.

"Come on Heatherkit, I'm sure your mother's worried about you." The tabby tom said, turning to Breezekit's newly found companion.

"Okay Owlfeather." Heatherkit murmured quietly, obediently following the warrior as they headed towards to nursery.

Breezekit watched her go in despair, not wanting to be left alone with the grumpy tom.

"Well?" The kit turned his head as the tom spoke. "Where's you mother?" Breezekit studied his paws, hoping that if he didn't respond he'd be left alone.

"I asked you a question!" Crowfeather snapped.

"Breezekit!"

_StarClan help me! _The kit pushed his nose into the ground as he listened to his mother's paw steps stop next to him.

"Breezekit what are you doing over here! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I realized you weren't in the den!"

"So he's yours…" He heard Crowfeather add in, the tom's voice slightly put off.

Nightcloud's prodding nose jerked away from Breezekit and he heard her hiss in disbelief. "Of course he is! Not that you'd know! Your hardly ever even in the camp let alone the nursery! Ever since Breezekit was born you've been on every patrol Ashfoot can come up with!"

"Is it so wrong to serve my Clan!" He challenged

Nightcloud didn't answer and instead sunk her teeth into her kit's scruff, carrying him away. This time Breezekit didn't complain or protest. The tense air that still surrounded his mother was enough to shut him up. He didn't know why the fight had effected him so much, he'd seen and heard cats arguing before, but this one had seemed different… more personal.

The subdued kit was set down right outside the all-to-familiar nursery. His mother fur was still bristling slightly but she tried to hide it as she sighted and took a step back to look him over.

"I'm sorry about that Breezekit. Crowfeather can be difficult at times but I'm sure your father still loves you."

Breezekit didn't answer and instead watched as Crowfeather stalked out of the camp with a small patrol, not even giving the pair a glance.

* * *

"I'm so proud of you." Owlfeather purred, nuzzling the newly named Heatherpaw.

Heatherpaw gave a purr before shaking away from him, "You can't do that anymore." She declared, but her eyes were light and happy. "I'm an apprentice now! I don't need you watching out for me."

Owlfeather purred, "Oh I'm sure you'll be begging for my help when you realize how hard training's going to be."

"I can take it." Heatherpaw puffed.

"Okay, but don't come crying to me when you lean I was right." The tabby tom answered, whiskers twitching with amusement.

"Your going to be an apprentice in a couple moons." The voice shook Breezekit away from the scene. He looked up to see Nightcloud standing beside, also watching the two cats playfully bickering with each other. "I'm sure your father's going to be proud."

Breezekit screwed his eyes, looking up at her. Something had been bothering him. "Nightcloud… can I ask you a question?"

The black she-cat tore her eyes away from Owlfeather and Heatherpaw to look down at her son. "Of course little one. You can ask me anything you want, anytime."

Breezekit paused, swallowing dryly. "Wh… what's a 'father?'"

He saw Nightcloud stiffen, staring at him. Her eyes turned from shock to a blistering anger and Breezekit flinched, dropping to the ground. "I'm-I'm sorry! It's just that you always talk about it but you never explained it!" Breezekit stuttered, wishing he'd never opened his mouth.

"No… it's okay…" Nightcloud forcibly calmed her voice down but her body was still tense. "It's not your fault."

Breezekit stayed crouching, still not sure if his mother would yell at him.

"A father…. A father is someone looks after their son. A father plays and tussles and jokes with him. They pick him up when he falls and keeps him warm when he's shivering. A father helps their son practice battle moves and hunting techniques and encourages him when he's had a tough day of training. But most importantly, a father loves his son no matter what."

Breezekit looked at the ground, he still didn't fully understand, but he gave a small nod. A father sounded nice. The kit glanced over and watched from a distance as Heatherpaw began sneaking up behind Owlfeather, who was busy tearing at a rabbit.

"Do… do I have a father?" He asked as Heatherpaw paused for a heatbeat before leaping up, landing just slightly off from the older tom's shoulders. Owlfeather pretended to give a yowl of alarm and dropped to the ground, announcing to the Clan of his attack and pleading for mercy.

"…Yes..." Nightcloud answered softly, following her kit's gaze and silently watch the pair.

"Who…. Who is it…?"

Owlfeather gently batted Heatherpaw off of him and stood up. The brown tabby began to stagger dramatically away, asking for StarClan's help. Heatherpaw's laughter echoed around the camp as she pounced on the tom's tail, her eyes shining brightly with happiness.

Breezekit tore his eyes away from the scene and looked into Nightcloud's sad eyes. "Who is my father?" He asked again when is seemed the she-cat wouldn't be answering.

He wanted that. He wanted someone to tackle and play games with. He wanted someone he could lean on and someone who would help and advise him to become a better warrior. He wanted a father, and the sooner he figured out who it was the sooner he could have those things. So why was Nightcloud being so difficult. Did she not want to feel second best?

Nightcloud looked away, refusing to meet her son's gaze for the first time. She choked out one word. One name. Then left, but it was enough. Enough the make Breezekit freeze, enough to make his amber eyes widen is disbelief, then narrow in anger. Enough to make him notice, not Owlfeather as he called out encouragements, not the joyful Heatherpaw as she jumped around excitedly behind her new mentor, but the dark shape slinking ahead of her, leading her through the gorse tunnel and out into the moorland beyond.

"Crowfeather."

* * *

Poor Breezekit =( He had no idea what was coming to him. He's still adorable though!

So I'd like to apologize if I got anything wrong in here. I wrote this while at my dad's which is devoid of any Warriors books sadly so I had to go with what I could find on the internet.

And I chose Owlfeather to be Heatherkit's father cause he sounded like he resembled her. So now I love Owlfeather xD Cause he's so cuddly here, I should read the Third Propehcy again and keep an eye out for and see if I caught his character... or if he even show up at _all!_

*scurries off to read*


End file.
